Science to Determine if We're Living In the Matrix

After yesterday's terrible news that cloning dinosaurs is currently impossible, science decided to restore our goodwill by doing something completely awesome. That something, it turns out, is to find out if we're all living in the Matrix.

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...Unimproved Wilson fermion discretization...

Apparently, some very curious nuclear physicists from the University of Bonn have come up with a few tests to decide if we're actually living in a computer program.

The outline of the test is filled with wonderful jargon that's almost impossible to decipher, with sentences like, "Using the historical development of lattice gauge theory technology as a guide, we assume that our universe is an early numerical simulation with unimproved Wilson fermion discretization and investigate potentially-observable consequences.."

So basically, these scientists are going to create a mini-universe to test the constraints of such a universe and see if it applies to our own universe.

My mind after trying to comprehend this stuff.

I mean, I think.

While I have absolutely no idea how creating a mini-universe can be remotely possible, it sounds neat. Even more unclear is if the nuclear physicists find that we really are in a computer program, if anyone could possibly believe them.

What I do know is that after watching The Truman Show I was positive my life was a reality TV show, after watching Toy Story I knew my toys were alive, and after watching Men In Black I knew my memory had been zapped. Who knows what mayhem Wreck-It Ralph will have on my cerebral cortex.

Either way, it does pose an interesting thought exercise. If we really were in a computer program, would our programmers have the foresight to stop us from finding out? What if we did find out? And finally, can we definitively prove we are in a computer program by making our own?

Let us know in the comments - or if you're just as baffled as us - just tell us what weird paranoia you can attribute to your favorite movies.

Nic is the Editor of IGN Tech. He loves technology almost as drinking so much coffee he can barely open the iPhone 5 box. You can follow him on Twitter@nicvargus and IGN.